I'm putting a 302 sbf in my 1950 mercury, and I'm not sure what transmission is better. Im running a ford 9 inch with a 3.50 gear. What are the pros and cons of each? I want something that can run in town and on the highway. Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Mike
The AOD is physically very large and more expensive as a general rule, the only real downsides. You also need to install a TV cable and adjust it properly but it is very easy to do. The C6 is a waste behind a 302, it is big and heavy and robs power compared to the C4. Either one is a 3 speed. If you decide to go smaller and cheaper, the C4 is the only way to go. The AOD with overdrive will give better mileage and lower open road RPM.
Don't know about the aod trans- depends what version you use. Overdrive is nice to have, especialy with the price of gas.If you are going for the three speed, you probably can get a c4 trans -smaller, lighter, cheaper and easier to find. It will be plenty strong behind a 302 unless it is pretty extreme.
X 2...... In my Fox Mustang that I am putting a 351 in I was going to use a C 4, but with gas the way it is going I am now planning on an AOD. Don
I installed a '84 AOD in my current build. Had to cut the four production ears off the sides of it to fit inside the floor tunnel. The AOD is a little fatter. The tranny mount is about 2" further back and I had to move the tranny cross member a bit. No hill to climb for a welder. Also fabricated linkage and adapted a Pinto floor shifter. Used Lokar TV cable system.
I run a 302 with a C6 in my '52 Ford F1 pickup. I had to put taller gears in the rear-end (2.80) in order to be able to cruise comfortably at highway speeds (it now runs about 2800 rpm's at 70 mph). I chose not to go with a C4 because in the old days they had a reputation for being weak. I'm sure there are rebuild kits now that correct all the 'weaknesses' in the C4. The C6's have a reputation of being indestructible. Maybe they rob more horsepower from the engine than a C4; if they do I've never noticed it. Hope this helps. -DV
AODs have been around since 79. Cheap and plenty full. I would run one behind a 5.0 for sure. Try to fidn one out of Mark or Mustang . They have more direct clutch plates.
I have an AOD in my 33 behind a F.I. 302 with 411 gear and 265x70x15" s I shift into O.D @ 50 mph = gets great gas mileage
The AOD like GM's 700R4 early versions had their share of bugs the preferred years for AOD's are 1988-93 these had all the factory upgrades and a better valve body and are non-computer I have the AOD and 302 combo in my '54 Ford.A real good website to checkout is www.clickclickracing.com moderator Silverfox builds custom valve bodies and I believe has a constant pressure valve body available,the Lokar T.V. Cable will make things EZ to work with.
Does anyone know who makes the floor shifter set up for the AOD if I put one in my 390 1964 Galaxie? (and not a cheapie) I'd swear I heard they make a bolt on AOD unit for a C6. Is that correct?
You can use the shifter out of an old aerostar,They are cheap in the junk yards. Probably a ranger too,but I don't know for sure Russ
What Don said- I'm a big fan of the AOD- I've gotta' SilverFox valve body in mine an' it seems like everybody makes floor shifters for 'em now... Lokar, B&M, TCI, yada,yada,yada Make sure ya' match the imbalance factor of the AOD flywheel/flexplate to the imbalance factor of the engine.....
I Blended a 92 Mustang Floor Shifter with a Gennie Shifter for my 33.the reason is the Gennie Shifter unit alone can jump out of gear if you hit a hard bump or pothole,where the mustang unit has a positive Detente for each position.so I have the Original Looking Shifter with positive selector. ( not the best picture,but U can see it )
The SBF has a coupla' different imbalance factors- 28oz (before '82-'83, I think) an' 50oz on later engines. Since AOD transmission production spans that there era, it's easy ta' screw up n' put a 50oz imbalance AOD flywheel/flexplate on a 28oz imbalace motor (an' vice-versa) leading to a lotta' shakin', rattlin' and generally nasty vibrations. Then there's the neutral imbalance flywheel fer' internally balanced race-type applications... I need another cup'a coffee.
He's absolutely right on this one! There are a couple of companies that make a proper "hybrid" flex plate for this deal, but I have seen them on E-bay too for less than what I paid last time around. I had a customer bring a '51 woody to me with a '75 302, a '89 AOD and the wrong flex plate to do all the wiring and get it running kinda stuff. When I did with the wrong balance factors, at idle, every revolution it was slightly jumping off of the jackstands the car was on.... Scary stuff. By the way, my vote goes with the AOD, but remember, you have to set up the rear gears for the magic to work with this deal. Without knowing your full combo, I'd guess something in the mid threes would be the way to go.
The C6 is very strong but eats up tons of Horse Power (Look it up) The C6 will use more fuel and slow down your 302 V8. Howeve, the C6 is very bullet proof and in a easy build up it can with stand a lot more than a 1000 HP. The AOD is the answer, 4th gear Overdrive is for better mileage. The 3:55 gears are plenty stout and don't do any steeper (No to 3.7 or 3.9 ane never 4.11). By the wa,y for one of my FE 390 (400+ HP) I used the GM 700r4 from Bowtie Overdrives. In the 700r4 the first gear 3.0 gives great 60 ft times and the Overdrive is lets me cruise from Fab Las Vegas to the Woodward Cruise in Detroit. (and a susual go to a good AOD vendor and don't go cheap)
I'm getting lots of different answers. I took the advice of a poster here and went to the ford transmission forum and posted the same question. They said the AOD wont work with my 390. Everybody else says it will.
The OP in this thread asked 'bout a 302 SBF- yer' question is 'bout a 390. I saw the post over on Click-Clack. It's not a bolt-in proposition- the bell housing on the AOD will need to be milled off and a 390etc bell housing will hav'ta be installed... I'm pretty sure Broader performance does this mod but it ain't for the feint of heart cash-wise. Post #14 in the other thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=777349 A buddy of mine just had an Art Carr AOD with the BBF conversion for sale, too bad ya' missed it: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=753111
No computer needed for an AOD, the only function through the orig. Computer is for the Neutral Safety switch,you can put that on the shift mechanism
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